“Moon Knight” Episode 5 was one of the best episodes of the show and one of the most emotional pieces of entertainment that Marvel has produced in a long, long time. Director Mohamed Diab and writers Jeremy Slate, Danielle Iman, and Rebecca Kirsch took a break from the larger, world-dominating plot and looked inwards at Marc/Steven (Oscar Isaac). It was expected that at one point, Marc was going to tell Steven the truth about his whole existence. But the painful way it was executed, resolved, and pushed forward was truly magnificent. Going into “Moon Knight” Episode 6, there were trepidations about the show watering down the character drama for an explosive finale and apparently, that’s exactly what happened.
Major Spoilers for “Moon Knight” Episode 6
Steven Is Marc’s Superpower
“Moon Knight” Episode 6 opens with the lifeless body of Marc floating in the water, just like we saw back in Episode 4. Yes, he is dead. Yes, Harrow (Ethan Hawke) has Ammit’s ushabti in his possession, and he’s going to release Ammit. And the only thing Layla (May Calamawy) has going for her is the magical compass that directs the person holding it to Ammit’s ushabti. I understand why Harrow will leave it with Marc because he thinks that no one is going to take it. But, still, it seems like a very cocky thing to do, and it rightfully comes back to bite him in the ass because Layla uses that compass to go after Harrow.
On his way to the chamber of the Gods, Harrow is stopped by the Egyptian police. That’s no issue because, with his amplified powers, he simply extracts their souls and moves on. Layla thinks about murdering Harrow while he’s having a breather. Taweret (Antonia Salib) interjects her through the dead bodies to tell Layla that she can’t take on Harrow on her own. The smart thing to do would be to release Khonshu, revive Marc, and then take on Harrow. Taweret even asks Layla if she wants to be her avatar. Layla says that she can handle this part on her own and gets back into Harrow’s entourage and follows him into the chamber of the Gods.
The Gods arrive to stop Harrow from releasing Ammit, but they fail to do so because Harrow is just too powerful now. Layla gives everyone the slip to get to Khonshu’s ushabti. Harrow finally releases Ammit (Sofia Danu), who arrives in her true form and curiously inquires to whom she owes gratitude for releasing her. Harrow says she doesn’t owe anyone anything and that everyone is ready to serve her and make the world a better place where everyone’s souls are balanced. Ammit notices that Harrow’s soul isn’t balanced, though (which is a classic villain trope where it’s revealed that the person who is vouching for purity is impure themselves). Harrow says that he thinks his painful penance would’ve convinced Ammit to overlook that aspect. And she actually does, and even makes Harrow her avatar.
Layla releases Khonshu. He senses that Marc is dead, and hence he tries to recruit Layla as his avatar. Layla refuses, pretty expressively. As Ammit and her entourage begin to leave the pyramid and go into Egypt to cleanse everyone’s souls, Khonshu interjects. Harrow realizes that there has to be someone in there who has released Khonshu and tells one of his hench-people to get them. Meanwhile, in the Field of Reeds, after appreciating its beauty, Marc decides that he can’t let Steven rot in the Duat while he enjoys this peace and quiet. So, he ditches it and starts making his way to Steven in the Duat. Marc literally hands over his heart to Steven while admitting that Steven is his superpower and appears to be frozen in the sand. But Osiris (Khalid Abdalla) opens the doors back to reality, allowing Steven and Marc to go back to their bodies.
Kaiju Battle, Feat. Khonshu and Ammit
While battling Ammit, it seems like Khonshu is running on fumes. But as soon as he realizes that Marc is back, he disappears from the pyramid and goes to Marc and Steven to make them the Moon Knight again. Steven, Marc, and Khonshu have a conversation under a beautiful sunset about what their new deal is going to be. Khonshu says that he’s going to release them both (“both” being the operative word here because that’s a loophole for Khonshu as he knows that there are more than two personalities in Oscar Isaac’s body). As Steven wonders how they’re going to get to Ammit, Khonshu turns the setting from day to night (proving that he draws his power from the moon), and the Moon Knight takes flight.
Layla comes across the dying avatar of Osiris, and she asks him what’s the best way to defeat Ammit. Osiris says that, given Ammit’s current prowess, they have to bind her to her avatar (Harrow) and then kill Harrow, thereby putting an end to both of them. Harrow casts a spell that begins to crumble the pyramid. Taweret takes over Layla as her (temporary) avatar, and they have a weird conversation about Layla’s father being in the Field of Reeds and Taweret’s new suit. But their conversation is interrupted by the falling pyramid.
Despite Moon Knight’s breakneck speed, he doesn’t reach in time to stop Harrow from causing any damage. Harrow manages to make it to the top of a pyramid and cast the spell that allows his/Ammit’s followers to send the unbalanced souls to Ammit. Ammit ingests the souls and starts increasing in size and eventually towers over the Pyramids of Egypt. Layla appears out of the rubble in her superhero costume gifted by Taweret. Moon Knight takes on Harrow and sends him hurtling through the skies of Egypt. Khonshu enlarges himself to go toe-to-toe with Ammit. And a brutal fight between the four of them ensues.
Ammit and Harrow constantly have the upper hand over Khonshu and Moon Knight, respectively. While Khonshu carries on on his own, Layla drops in to help Moon Knight. Layla, Marc, and Steven take on a bunch of goons in what is possibly one of the best-choreographed fight sequences of the show. Amidst all this, Layla manages to inspire a young Egyptian girl since she’s technically the first Egyptian superhero. However, that beat of optimism is overshadowed by Ammit bringing down Khonshu and Harrow overpowering Moon Knight. Layla tries to come between Harrow and Moon Knight, but Harrow manages to trap her, leaving Moon Knight completely exposed.
‘Moon Knight’ Ending Explained – Did Steven And Marc Imagine It All?
On the brink of losing consciousness, Marc sees Ammit stabbing Khonshu. Then he sees Harrow about to stab him with his staff and suck out his soul. That’s when he surprisingly loses control of his body, as he has many times before. When Marc and Steven regain control of their body, they see the carnage they’ve caused and the almost lifeless body of Harrow in their hands. They realize this is not their doing, and probably so does Layla. But the matter is so complicated that they decide to momentarily shelve it and go help Khonshu (who is being dragged by his neck by Ammit) by entrapping Ammit before she gets back to sucking more souls out of Egypt.
In a finale, reminiscent of “Turning Red (2022),” Marc and Layla put Harrow’s body on a tomb and start chanting the spell to bind Ammit. A magical circle forms around and through them, and it extends to the Kaiju-like figures of Ammit and Khonshu. Ammit gets entrapped in Harrow, and they say that they’re not going to stop until Moon Knight kills them. Khonshu appears to tell Moon Knight to finish it. But Marc hesitates. Layla says that he doesn’t have to kill because he has a choice. Marc realizes that too and tells Khonshu to kill Harrow and Ammit if he thinks that is the right thing to do. Realizing that he can’t persuade Marc to do his bidding, he frees Marc and Steven and leaves the site.
As soon as Khonshu leaves, Marc’s Moon Knight costume starts to disappear, and the screen goes white. The scene momentarily changes to the asylum, where Dr. Harrow is still trying to convince Steven and Marc that that’s the real world and everything going on in Egypt isn’t. Marc asks what happens if they want to believe in something different. Harrow says that he has to continue his experiments on him. And as Harrow starts to walk away, Marc and Steven notice that Harrow’s feet are bleeding. Once pointed out, Harrow appears confused. Steven says that maybe Harrow doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does. Jake Lockley, or Marc, says that it’s tempting to accept Harrow’s diagnosis. Finally, Steven says that he’d rather go back to reality.
Marc and Steven (in the same body) find themselves in Marc’s old bedroom with Engelbert Humperdinck’s “A Man Without Love” playing yet again. His leg is still tied to the pole of the bed. There’s sand around his bed to track his movements. And there are two goldfish in the tank instead of one. So, it definitely doesn’t mean that Marc and Steven imagined it all. They did go through the whole ordeal in Egypt. But they’re unaware of the fact that they’re still doing Khonshu’s bidding. As for Layla? Where is she? Well, it’s not revealed in the ending. Hence, all we can do is assume. My best guess is that she’s besties with Taweret now and is doing some good old superhero business in Egypt. Where’s Harrow? Well, keep reading.
‘Moon Knight’ Post-Credits Scene Explained – Welcome, Jake Lockley. Goodbye, Arthur Harrow
In a post-credits scene, we see that Harrow is admitted to a psychiatric hospital and completely inebriated due to the medication he is on. As a nurse comes to take care of him, a Spanish-speaking gentleman wheels Harrow out of there. On his way out, Harrow notices the dead bodies of a bunch of nurses and senses that something is wrong. The man throws Harrow into a limousine, and he finds that Khonshu is sitting there, this time in a suit. Harrow says that Khonshu can’t hurt him and Ammit. That’s when Khonshu gives him the lowdown.
Khonshu says that Marc Spector truly believed that after he and Khonshu parted ways, Khonshu wanted his wife, Layla, as his avatar. Khonshu says that he actually doesn’t need anyone else since Marc has no idea how troubled he truly is. Khonshu introduces Harrow (and us) to Jake Lockley, the third and apparently most unhinged and violent personality of Marc. Lockley turns to Harrow and says, “Today is your turn to lose,” and riddles Harrow with bullets. Right in front of the psychiatric hospital. And then he drives away as the camera momentarily lingers on the plate of the car that reads: SPKTR, i.e., Spector. Frank Sinatra’s “My Way Of Life” plays, indicating that Khonshu really is never going to let go of Marc Spector.
